I lost my raiding group with the 10/25 exclusivity, and I'm not that interested right now in finding somewhere new. Having not raided since January, I've found it to be harder and harder to maintain a gear guide primarily directed toward people who were actively raiding. I don't want to steer people wrong by giving them advice that I can't relate to myself at all.

And honestly, I only made a gear guide during WotLK because Maintankadin didn't have one. My original priority was my Item Enhancement guide, and yet I spend 90% of my maintenance time here instead of there.

So I'm unsticking this guide. (Edit: I don't seem to have the ability to unsticky any more.) If I get a chance to raid again, and time to work on this, I'll bring it back.

Thanks for your understanding.Digren

Tank Stages

Introduction

Giving generic advice to all tanks isn't easy. What a tank needs as a new 85 differs greatly than what he or she needs deep into Cataclysm raiding. However, the process is greatly simplified if tanks are categorized into tiers, each based on a step in the development process. Hence: tank stages.

Blizzard's gear strategy fit well into this. With each raid tier, old Valor gear becomes new Justice gear, letting a new raider "catch up" with relative ease. This means that patches don't add a new tank stage - they just shift the average iLvl of the old ones - keeping a simple stage model viable.

This represents the latest information in the form of my own experiences as well as others here on Maintankadin. If you see a mistake or have a comment, post it!

All content for this guide is by Digren, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0, except the following:

Best for EH, Best for Block, and Best for Threat icons, as well as names of places, items, and lore, may be the property of Blizzard. I make no claims on them and use them in good faith as a third-party fan site.

Quotes and comments from others used in good faith. Let me know if you want them removed.

-- Digren

What are Tank Stages

Level 85 tanks can be roughly divided into five stages based on the equipment they have and the content they're equipped for.

New 85. A new level 85 tank has gear that he or she acquired while leveling, through quests or dungeons, or has gear buyable or craftable within an hour of reaching level 85. This tank wants to get into dungeons and build a (normal) dungeon gear set, which, when reached, makes the tank stage two.

Ready for Heroics. The dungeon finder has a strict requirement - average iLvl 329 - to queue for Cata heroics. Thus it's less easy for an undergeared tank to slip into them wearing new 85 gear. Hence, an intermediate dungeon stage is warranted, for tanks who have been running normal dungeons and are now equipped for heroics.

Ready for Raiding. A stage three tank has a complete set of heroic dungeon gear, plus the best quest and craftable items outside of raids. He or she is ready for raiding. Alternatively, a stage three tank who does not raid has reached end game, and is seeking a best-in-slot set for farming heroics.

Normal Raider. A stage three tank is a normal-mode raider on either 10 or 25. He or she seeks a best-in-slot set for non-heroic gear. For some tanks, this is the peak of ability. Others, depending on guild and playstyle, will use this as a stepping stone to reach stage five.

Heroic Raider. A stage five tank is a heroic raider on either 10 or 25. He or she can face the toughest encounters in game and emerge victorious. This tank seeks best-in-slot for all pieces.

By knowing your stage of progression as a tank, you know how to read and use the recommendations in my guides.Rules for Gear by Stage

These are the rules I use to classify gear by stage, as well as a baseline health and combat table coverage (avoidance+block) someone at a given stage should expect.

Stage One: New 85

Digren says, "So, you're level 85. Now what? This is what you should already have, or what you should buy, before you fire up the dungeon finder and get a group. Most people you encounter with the normal dungeon finder will be similarly geared, but be prepared to be blown away by a jerk DPS player who owns your threat and doesn't want to play nicely. It happens, and it doesn't mean you're doing anything wrong."

Rules for stage 1 gear:

Able to be acquired within an hour of reaching level 85.

If from crafting, at a reasonable cost.

If from questing, from a pre-85 quest.

If from a dungeon, from a pre-84 instance.

If from a faction, from one that can be acquired while leveling, at no more than honored.

If from "points", from a small amount that can be earned while leveling.

A stage one tank will have about 115k health, and around 65% avoidance + block, when properly equipped with reasonable enhancements.

Stage Two: Geared for Heroics

Digren says, "Blizzard demands average iLvl 329 to use the heroic dungeon finder While you can be carried through heroics with less, this set will ensure you can pull your own weight. Obviously if you do get into a few heroics early, a few pieces of better gear could pull up your average quickly."

Rules for stage 2 gear:

Able to be acquired within three weeks of reaching level 85.

No raiding or heroic (85) instances required.

No super rare, super expensive BoE raid drops.

Nothing that requires exalted reputation.

A stage two tank will have about 130k health, and around 70% avoidance + block, when properly equipped with reasonable enhancements.

Stage Three: Geared to Start Raiding

Digren says, "No one likes a fresh 85 who wants to be carried in a raid. Upgrade to this gear set and you'll be able to pull your own weight."

Rules for stage 3 gear:

Able to be acquired within a few weeks of unlocking heroic dungeons.

No raiding required.

A stage three tank has at least 145k health and 78% combat table coverage. An average iLvl of 346 should help ensure the tank is taken for PuGs.

Stage Four: (Normal) Raider

Digren says, "Whether 10 or 25, whether the end of your game or a stepping stone to heroics, this gear set defines you as a raider."

Rules for stage 4 gear:

No heroic raids required.

A stage four tank has about 155k health and is approaching 85% combined avoidance + block.

Stage Five: Heroic Raider

Digren says, "There are no rules for stage five gear. Anything goes!"

Last edited by Digren on Wed Jan 05, 2011 12:31 pm, edited 10 times in total.

Shocking as it sounds to some people, tanks can wear more than one set of gear. When fighting the biggest, baddest, hardest-hitting bosses, a gear set that maximizes survivability is vital. When mowing through trash on the way to the boss, threat is more important. Combining both tasks in the same gear fails to maximize either.

So what gear is required? In the absence of other gimmick-style encounters, tanks need two gear sets:

A maximum survivability set, made up of the best acquirable gear.

A threat set, made up of next-best, old, and alternative gear.

When reviewing the following gear lists, one item at each gear level is marked with to indicate that it is the best option for survivability. One or more other items are marked with to indicate that they would make the basis of a good threat set.

Do I have to carry two full sets of gear? Goodness no. You can likely maximize threat by switching 3-4 threat pieces into your survivability set. Take a look at the threat character models provided for ideas.Stat Considerations

With Justice/Valor points, reputation gear, crafted epics, and so forth, more and more tanks are able to choose what they equip. This means gear is less "take what you can get" and more "take the best". Thus a stat consideration section is necessary now for a gearing guide.

Now, however, block again reduces incoming melee damage by a significant amount - 40% (or more with the correct meta gem). Once again trying to push "regular" hits off the combat table makes sense. In Cataclysm, consider blocked hits the norm, and unblocked hits as +70% damage. Welcome back crushing blows!

Of course mastery rating only reduces incoming damage for physical, blockable attacks. However, it is one of only a few stats not subject to diminishing returns. 179.28 points of mastery rating yield one mastery, and each point of mastery yields 2.25% block chance. Cutting out the middle stat, that means 79.68 mastery rating yields 1% block chance. Keep in mind that a regular stage 1-4 tank might have 50-90% avoidance+block, so an additional 1% block chance converts 2-10% of incoming full hits into blocked hits.

The equivalence of stamina to blocking is more difficult and encounter-dependent, but in general, mastery rating is better than all other (non stamina) stats. Besides from gear, mastery rating can be acquired through reforging at minimal cost (by replacing unneeded threat stats and dodge or parry rating).

The fact that mastery rating reduces incoming damage so well, smooths damage spikes, and isn't subject to diminishing returns, makes it one of the best survival stats. Much of this gearing guide and the companion item enhancement guide is designed around getting you as much mastery as possible.

StaminaEach point of stamina provides [14 x 1.05 x 1.15 x 1.05 = 17.75025] health. Stamina is still the best way to survive bleeds and magic damage, which are not blockable or mitigated by armor. However, for most encounters the majority of incoming damage is physical and blockable, making encounters that differ often called "gimmick" encounters tanked by "gimmick" tanks (like mages) or in "gimmick" gear (like a resist set). Thus the comparison between mastery and stamina is not easy, and is very encounter dependent. This guide uses a baseline recommended health at each tank stage, and then suggests gearing for mastery above that level.

Dodge and Parry RatingBoth dodge and parry rating yield pure avoidance from avoidable, physical damage. Both are subject to diminishing returns. While it varies based on the Holy Shield model used, per Theck's derivations, 1 mastery rating is better than 1 dodge or parry rating once the respective rating is somewhere between 10.19% and 12.76%. Thus for pretty much everyone, mastery rating is better than dodge or parry rating. Dodge and parry rating are still better than threat stats, though.

ArmorThere aren't many options for bonus armor any more. Per Theck's derivations, 1 mastery rating is worth approximately as much as 7 armor, given a simple Holy Shield utilization model.

StrengthStrength provides about 28.35% of the parry of parry rating. This appears as parry rating in your character sheet total, so there's no behind-the-scenes secret parry to worry about. Do keep it in mind when evaluating gear, in that this (and, something, only this) makes a strength piece better than an agility or even an intellect piece with otherwise equivalent stats.Threat Stats

Hit Rating, Expertise Rating, and StrengthExpertise and hit rating plus strength are the "better" threat stats. That said, at this point threat is still pretty trivial. When tanks are dumping Holy Power into WoG instead of a threat ability, clearly threat doesn't matter. These stats should not be sought out (and indeed, in many cases they should be reforged into mastery). But, when unavoidable, they are somewhat more useful than any other threat stats.

Wait a second! Didn't 4.0.6's nerf to Holy Power generation mean we must aim for the hit and expertise caps? No! While focused on the nerf, everyone overlooked the buffs to other threat abilities. You only need to cap to guarantee Holy Power generation. You don't need the cap to hold aggro. At most, switch to Seal of Truth with its glyph for some "free" expertise.Expertise is the best threat stat, up to the dodge soft cap where its value fades somewhat and hit takes over. Above the hit melee cap, however, expertise is again king, up to the expertize parry cap. Strength - the best threat stat for WotLK - is a distant third. For threat sets, aim for expertise up to 25, then hit up to 8%, then expertise up to 55, before attempting to stack any other threat stats. Above the melee cap hit rating is wasted.

Keep an eye out for gear that could form part of a threat set; preferably this gear would have threat/mastery bonuses and be for a slot with a good hit or expertise enchant.

Wait a second! Didn't 4.1's change to interrupts make hit rating worthless? With 4.1, it's no longer necessary to have hit rating to interrupt. But that doesn't really affect hit rating's threat generation. It's still a good threat stat for threat sets. Just don't bother with any in a survival set.Haste and Crit RatingThese "lesser" threat stats don't appear on tank gear. However, they do regularly appear on DPS pieces (such as ret gear) alongside mastery rating. Given how good mastery rating can be for tanks, occasionally gear with these stats will appear in a tank gear guide. In general, the only value that these stats provide is as something to reforge to dodge or parry rating (because the items already have mastery rating). Gear with haste or crit but without mastery does not appear in this guide and is not considered tank viable.

Agility and IntellectAgility provides crit, and intellect provides spell power, but neither are great options for threat. The only reason you should ever see these on your gear is if the equivalent strength-based piece has eluded you or isn't equivalent at all.Gear Selection

When selecting gear, choose to

Maintain the recommended health baseline for your stage, and

Reduce spikes and incoming damage via mastery

Other stats are secondary or are provided automatically in most cases (like armor). Of course this is very dependent on the gear. A piece with just 60 mastery rating might not be as good as a piece with 200 dodge rating, all else equal, depending on your specific diminishing returns. In general, though, gear is rated based on the two "green" stats as follows.

Mastery / AvoidanceGear with mastery rating and either dodge or parry rating is usually the best possible gear. Everything else is second tier. This gear only needs to be reforged to balance dodge and parry diminishing returns, if necessary.

Mastery / ThreatGear with mastery and a threat stat - either a good or "lesser" stat - is good if there is enough mastery rating. Reforge the threat stat into either dodge or parry rating. This gear is about as good as avoidance / avoidance gear, so any two pieces need to be compared directly to identify the better option.

Avoidance / AvoidanceGear with two avoidance stats is good. Reforge one of the two avoidance stats into mastery rating. This gear is about as good as mastery/threat gear, so any two pieces need to be compared directly to identify the better option.

Avoidance / ThreatGear with either dodge or parry rating and a threat stat isn't as good, because only a small portion of mastery can be created with reforging, and the remaining threat stat isn't useful. This is the lowest tier of tank gear. Refer to a reforging guide for information on how to correctly reforge these items.

Last edited by Digren on Sat Dec 11, 2010 9:49 am, edited 10 times in total.

Most tanks leveling from 80 to 85 will no longer have ICC gear. Sure, there will be some tanks who quit during late WotLK, and now want to catch up, just as there may be some well-geared tank alts who haven't been addressed yet in Cataclysm. But overall, most tanks will be either low-geared or brand-new alts.

In general, as always, what you do while leveling doesn't really matter. If you want to spec protection, here are some tips to help you level.

Lacking level 80 raid/points gear? Use Vash'jir or Hyjal quest rewards, run Blackrock Caverns a few times at level 80, or buy Hardened Obsidium.

Digren says, "The gear you'll get by leveling is plenty good. If you'd prefer to be overgeared for the first few instances, though, consider the Hardened Obsidium set. The set only requires level 80 to wear, and any blacksmith can craft it for you."

Reforge your gear for mastery.

Digren says, "Mastery increases block chance and isn't subject to diminishing returns. Block's new 40%-off mechanic makes it much stronger than before, effectively setting a new baseline; consider blocked hits the norm and unblocked hits as +70% damage. While leveling, pretty much any piece that is a higher iLvl and has mastery is an upgrade. Take it.

Plan your leveling strategy.

Digren says, "Look ahead at the stage one gear list, and plan your leveling strategy accordingly. You should pick Hyjal over Vash'jir to be ready for the Molten Front. Note in particular the large selection of stage one items available from Twilight Highlands quests. Even if you otherwise level up through grinding, PVP, or a gathering profession, completing the Twilight Highlands quest lines will yield a reasonable gear set to begin level 85 play. Don't forget to visit the leveling dungeons too!"

Last edited by Digren on Fri Jan 07, 2011 12:46 am, edited 59 times in total.

Digren says, "I created these models to give realistic examples of viable gear sets per stage. These certainly aren't all-inclusive options, but they should give you a target set to reach the health and combat table coverage expected at each stage."

Tank Stage One - Engineer / Enchanter - Survival Gear

Digren says, "My goal for this set was to build a realistic target for a new 85 tank. Questing through Vash'jir yields enough Earthen Ring faction to buy the greaves once 85; a lucky run through each of Vortex Pinnacle and the Stonecore provide two drop and one quest pieces. One Justice Points piece is included (1250 points), but there are suitable near replacements if you don't have points banked from level 80 play. Everything else comes from Uldum or Twilight Highlands quests."

Digren says, "This set is typical of a stage three tank looking to move into raiding. Several factions have been pushed to exalted, and heroic drops and targeted purchases fill in the gear set. No Valor gear is included as it's not likely a raiding tank will spend enough time at this stage to gather points."

Digren says, "For some tanks, stage three is end game. These tanks can't or won't raid, but can over time build an optimal, best-in-slot non-raiding set for heroics. If this is you, consider the following set."

142k health (less than the raider model because the heroic farmer doesn't need the padding)

27.5% dodge+parry+miss

60.8% block (for a total combat table coverage of 88.3%)

3.25% hit and 20 expertise including glyph (23 for a human)

This character is well-equipped to for heroic farming. Note that, for this set only, some attention has been given to threat; as the content is over-geared it's fine to make threat mindless (and allow for a sloppier rotation).Tank Stage Four - Engineer / Enchanter - Survival Gear

Digren says, "A stage four tank with this set is ready to tackle heroic raids. Not every piece is best in slot, taking into account the random nature of raid drops."

Digren says, "This model represents an end-game tank. I didn't attempt to achieve the block cap in this set; it's optimized for maximum damage reduction. A second mastery trinket, and a pair of hit or expertise trinkets, can provide variety as required. For a tank walking blind into cutting-edge content, consider using dual stamina trinkets over the stamina/mastery pair suggested here, as this will provide extra buffer for unexpected damage in an unblockable form."

T11 normal gear can be bought with Valor Points (for some slots) or Forlorn tokens (for other slots). Don't confuse these tokens with the ones sold by the Valorous quartermaster, which are used to convert T11 gear into T11.5 gear.

There are two different methods to acquire heroic T11 gear, as follows:

Al'Akir heroic drops Essence of the Forlorn; these can be turned in for any of the five 372 armor tokens, which can then be turned in as per option one.

4.2: Upgrading to Firelands Heroic Gear

New to patch 4.2, Blizzard is offering a way for heroic raiders to upgrade their non-heroic gear without flooding boss loot tables. Each Firelands boss drops a Crystallized Firestone. Turn in the firestone and one of a select list of normal mode items, and you'll receive a heroic version. This works not only for some normal raid drops, but also for vendor-bought gear, marking the first time that vendor gear can be "made" heroic.

Items that upgrade in this fashion have their source marked as "Firelands (Heroic) Crystallized Firestone + Normal Version".

Last edited by Digren on Fri Jan 07, 2011 1:11 am, edited 47 times in total.

Note: Starting with patch 4.2, some lists exclude items that have been made wholly redundant. For example, I don't list every possible neck item available in patch 4.1, because any tank can, shortly after reaching level 85, walk into Molten Front and buy a Fireheart Necklace. Places with items removed are indicated with ellipses. (...)

Digren's advice: The heroic tier helm's lack of mastery pulls it far down in a CTC ranking. The heroic Helm of Blazing Glory is perfectly itemized and is best-in-slot. The T12 normal helm just isn't that good. While it may work fine in a threat set, the two dropped options are better choices for survival. The normal Helm of Blazing Glory is perfectly itemized and is best-in-slot for non-heroic raiders. Non-raiders get no love for their helm slot in patch 4.2, with the engineering goggles remaining best in slot. Alas, my hope to see new cogwheels each tier (to keep the goggles up-to-date) is dashed. Past that, the Helm of Easeful Death and newer Spiritshield Mask are just about tied. Despite the iLvl different, the Easeful helm offers significantly more mastery rating, while the Spiritshield offers less-valuable stamina and avoidance. Such is the result of gearing for combat table coverage. If you are pushing the block cap, use the Spiritshield for its stamina and higher iLvl. If you have the Justice Points, the Helm of Easeful Death is a clear favorite while gearing up for heroics due to its high mastery once gemmed and reforged. If 2200 Justice Points are out of reach pre-heroics, however, the Twilight Highlands faction piece is easy to get and an acceptable substitute. The Vortex Pinnacle drop wins due to its large allocation of parry rating - leading to sufficient mastery rating via reforging. It's the best piece to be wearing when you reach 85.Neck1. [Firebound Gorget] : Firelands (Heroic) Crystallized Firestone + Normal Version2. [Firebound Gorget] : Firelands (Normal) BoE Raid Drop3. [Caelestrasz's Will] : The Bastion of Twilight (Heroic) Sinestra4. [Stoneheart Necklace] : 1250 Valor Points5. [Permafrost Choker of the Rockslab] : Throne of the Four Winds (Heroic) Al'Akir5. [Permafrost Choker of the Bedrock] : Throne of the Four Winds (Heroic) Al'Akir6. [Rage of Ages] : Blackwing Descent (Heroic) Nefarian7. [Permafrost Choker of the Rockslab] : Throne of the Four Winds (Normal) Al'Akir7. [Permafrost Choker of the Bedrock] : Throne of the Four Winds (Normal) Al'Akir8. [Permafrost Choker of the Bouldercrag] : Throne of the Four Winds (Heroic) Al'Akir8. [Fireheart Necklace] : Molten Front (Unlockable Vendor) Zen'Vorka9. [Buc-Zakai Choker] : BoE Dungeon Drop9. [Rage of Ages] : Blackwing Descent (Normal) Nefarian...10. [Amulet of Protection] : Zul'Gurub (Heroic) Gri'lek11. [Carrier Wave Pendant] : Blackrock Caverns (Heroic) Ascendant Lord Obsidius...12. [Mountain's Mouth] : Guardians of Hyjal (Honored)12. [Elementium Guardian] : BoE Jewelcrafting...

Digren's advice: The Cracked stompers aren't that far behind the blacksmithing piece, but why settle for less than the best when they're so easy to obtain? Just keep wearing your Wildhammer / Dragonmaw boots until you can buy the blacksmithing piece. Pick up the Wildhammer / Dragonmaw faction piece while you wait for the price of Mirrored Boots to fall. Stick with the Pyrelord Greaves. Pyrelord Greaves are one of your rewards for reaching level 85; visit the Molten Front for your victory lap and pick 'em up.

Last edited by Digren on Fri Jan 07, 2011 1:23 am, edited 33 times in total.

Digren's advice: Finally, a heroic relic for heroic raiders. The valor relic is best in slot. The valor relic is best in slot, followed by a host of others including the new easy-to-obtain Relic of Tortolla. You can buy the Notched Jawbone if you have spare cash or to boost your average iLvl; otherwise stick with Namkhare's charm until you unlock the Relic of Tortolla. You can buy the Notched Jawbone if you have spare cash or to boost your average iLvl; otherwise stick with Namkhare's charm.Trinkets

Digren's advice:Trinkets are different. They offer a large amount of a focused stat in an easily-swappable form. Keep several handy and you can swap the feel of your entire gear set. I recommend acquiring two each of mastery, stamina, and threat, and learning when to use them. Note that I don't list avoidance trinkets; unless one has an amazing on-use ability, they are simply inferior to mastery trinkets (for the vast majority of players under the block cap).

What I need to help:Petrus has been gathering a list of all the Cataclysm available gear. I haven't yet had time to parse that list and bin the items by tier. Which pieces can a tank reasonably expect to acquire pre-85? What pieces comprise the dungeon sets? Are there any raid gear stats yet.

I'll get to this. But if someone else has sorted through it all, knows this, and can contribute, I'll get the guide done that much faster.

Once I know what gear is available for each tier, we can build overall sets. Then, let's review what stats are short and what is possible. Can a new level 85 tank hit the block cap by gemming, enchanting, and reforging everything for mastery? Is that even a good idea? If so, we'll build a model of an ideal tank level 1 character with typical gear and enhancements. Then, that model drives my item enhancement guide selections for that level.

Are dungeons a cakewalk for survivability but every tank needs to work on threat? If so, then level two could recommend threat enhancements over survival enhancements, and I'll back port those recommendations to the gem and enchant guide, too. There are still many unknowns, but that just means there's still a lot to explore.

Neptuno wrote:should adjust the discussion for the BV changes for rank 0 since we won't be block capped completely while leveling

I'm going to wait and see if they change it all up again before I update that bit. I know it's different now on beta than it was when I wrote that text a month ago, but as far as I can see so far reforging for mastery is still the best option.

Have you intentionally listed the Ret T11 legs rather than the Prot ones in the Level 3 list? Is it going to be optimal to go 4/5 Prot for the 4-piece bonus and then taking the Ret legs because of their stats? Or was this just an oversight?

Braundo wrote:Have you intentionally listed the Ret T11 legs rather than the Prot ones in the Level 3 list? Is it going to be optimal to go 4/5 Prot for the 4-piece bonus and then taking the Ret legs because of their stats? Or was this just an oversight?

I stumbled across them, realized that they had no bad specs*, and then determined that they'd make the foundation for an awesome threat piece for a protection paladin. I stumbled across them because my level 85 premade had them in his inventory.

I haven't listed the prot legs because my premade was given Legplates of the Unseen instead for his prot set. They'll be listed when I do a more exhaustive search.

I had made a listing of some of the gear I'd encounter while leveling, and where it's from. It's really only for the path TO 85 (so not a lot of info on heroic gear or raiding stuff), but it was helpful for me to see which dungeons I want to focus on, and where the good questing is.

Edit: Also, I love the threat/mastery gear pieces, which double as ret gear. I figure that when leveling, worrying about having 4-5% less avoidance is not really a big deal. I wrote this before I knew when I could properly go to Deepholm, and have since decided to try to cap Mining and Archaeology before I start doing most of this, anyways.

I ordered these by level, generally, and included things that I can craft or buy (so BoEs and Engineering toys). I also separated (sometimes ) the leveling gear from the at-85 gear.

I can't get {code ...} to give me anything but a really small unreadable window. Sorry. I thought about making it a Quote section for text formatting, but then I'd lose the tabs. Let me know if you'd prefer it in Quotes, as then it will be readable all at once.

From this, I drew some conclusions about which reputations and dungeons I want to farm.

Reputations: Hyjal and RamakhenIt's interesting that there's DPS + tank gear on both the Ramakhen and Hyjal rep vendors, both at exalted and at revered, for levels 83 and 85. Questing in Hyjal and Uldum should unlock the level 83 blues, which LOOK like they should be good entry level 85-dungeon gear (though perhaps not for heroics). (If you want tank/healing gear, there are other factions that give those.)

QuestingHyjal: Available at 80, many blue upgrades to anyone not in 277 gear.

Vash'jir: Get the Throne of Tides portal, eventually. I didn't see much reason to quest here.

Deepholm: At 81 (82?), there are quests for tank legs, dps weapon, and a necklace. I'm not really motivated to quest here, except that I will likely hang out here a lot to mine.

Stormwind: At 84, it looks like there's a quest before Twilight Highlands which has a good mid-level shield: Truthbreaker Shield. It's itemized for level 84, and the upgrades are from either justice points, crafted, or heroic BRC.

Twilight Highlands: Wildhammer rep is important, and there are several gear upgrades here. Rewards are ilevel 333.

Dungeons

Blackrock Caverns: For new 80 tanks, this is great stuff. If you're in 251+ gear, you probably won't get much out of here. I hear it's fast XP to farm this with a skilled group, though. There's a shield, and shoulders.

Stonecore: Many plate upgrades, for tank and dps. Tanking relic and BIS 2H sword for a while. These look great.

Vortex Pinnacle: Good quest reward, tanking hat, and a cape. I'll do it once or twice.

Lost City: Do the quest (tanking boots), run it once or twice for tanking ring/belt, but don't obsess over it. Ilevel 333.

Halls of Origination: Farm it from 83 on. Plate upgrades for both specs in almsot every slot; improved armor and stamina means that even DPS gear will likely be tanking upgrades. Ilevel 333. It looks like heroic Halls of Origination will also have lots of plate upgrades as well, so I may as well learn the place.

Grim Batol: Also Ilevel 333. Quest for tanking chest, and drops DPS upgrades. Also a hit/mastery ring which I'll love.

Once I get to 85, I'll know a lot more about where I'll want to push my reputations and stuff, but the dungeon drops really do seem to be heavily skewed to make us focus on only a few dungeons. I like that, frankly, as it makes farming it with a like-minded group fairly fruitful.

Neptuno wrote:should adjust the discussion for the BV changes for rank 0 since we won't be block capped completely while leveling

It's been adjusted. I still recommend pushing towards it as a great way to increase survivability, as mastery rating reducing damage intake more than an equal amount of parry or dodge rating. The text should make sense now though to someone who didn't follow the boufs and noifs from build to build in beta. Thanks!

Braundo wrote:Have you intentionally listed the Ret T11 legs rather than the Prot ones in the Level 3 list? Is it going to be optimal to go 4/5 Prot for the 4-piece bonus and then taking the Ret legs because of their stats? Or was this just an oversight?

The list is far more complete now, including both the prot and ret legs. I still need to flag items intended to build a threat offset, including those legs, with my threat symbol. I want to build the base survival character models first, then see just how many pieces of threat gear are needed to (soft) cap hit and expertize, and determine if the average tank will need to waste points or a token on ret legs.

Kelaan wrote:I had made a listing of some of the gear I'd encounter while leveling, and where it's from. It's really only for the path TO 85 (so not a lot of info on heroic gear or raiding stuff), but it was helpful for me to see which dungeons I want to focus on, and where the good questing is.

I've gone through your list to ensure that I have all the tank items listed.

I haven't included threat/mastery items where the threat stat is crit rating or haste. This was a conscious decision to limit the size of my list, by excluding items that provide (slightly) lesser threat stats. I'll roll against DPS for something that truly helps me tank (including good tank gear), but I'll pass on stuff that is non-optimal. Of course my second spec isn't ret so I'm sure others' opinions will differ.

Ok, most everything is up to date, though I still need to rate the gear at each level, and see if which, if any, higher level items are attainable at a lower level (like the engie goggles). I'm still looking for a functional character profiler / modeler / sandbox to build tank level models.

merciless-guild : dead and gonewarcrafter.net : still limited to level 80; no indication it's been maintained since April 2009ctprofiles.net : died with WoW 3.0 in 2008wowdigger : dead and gonechardev.org : still limited to level 80; developer abandoned it in OctoberWowhead profilter : still limited to level 80; no indication of when it will be updatedmagelo.com : says it supports 4.0.3a so it might work, but is hung trying to sync my character (and won't let me use the sandbox without importing)

You wrote to reforge the highest of item stat (expertise, hit, dodge, parry) into mastery. But what about a Expertise and Hit Rating cap (threat as you wrote is only one problem, but dps is second)? If I reforge my hit, or expertise into mastery I'll probalby loss my cap, so my dps will go down isn't it? I aggre with you at reforging Dodge, and Parry, but no Expertise and Hit (the only way will be probably reforge some of hit into expertise to get full cap and clear dps without any losses on blocks and parries by mobs).

And could you tell something more about block cap? It will be still at 102.4%?

Error_Demon wrote:You wrote to reforge the highest of item stat (expertise, hit, dodge, parry) into mastery. But what about a Expertise and Hit Rating cap (threat as you wrote is only one problem, but dps is second)? If I reforge my hit, or expertise into mastery I'll probalby loss my cap, so my dps will go down isn't it? I aggre with you at reforging Dodge, and Parry, but no Expertise and Hit (the only way will be probably reforge some of hit into expertise to get full cap and clear dps without any losses on blocks and parries by mobs).

And could you tell something more about block cap? It will be still at 102.4%?

You don't need DPS - that's not your job. DPS isn't second to me. It's like 6th on my list of priorities, somewhere under keeping my healer happy by blocking as much as possible. You do need threat, but only enough to exceed the DPS players in your group. DPS and wasted threat are not the purpose of your survivability gear. If you want DPS, switch to your threat gear.

If you do what you state, you could find yourself with a single, mediocre set for both hard tanking and easy threat/DPS. Why do that when you can make two awesome sets?

The block cap is still 102.4%, at least for T11, but you can't reach it. Around 75% is about as close as you can get without activating trinkets or building a gimmicky set that sacrifices a lot of health. Blizzard said that they will require more rating at higher tiers in Cata (something they've never done before), but they haven't said if they'll do this by raising boss levels (and hence require 103.2%, 104.0%, etc.) or if they'll just give bosses hit and expertise rating.

I wonder if the 0.2 slower speed on Cookie's Tenderizer would warrant its inclusion under both threat and surv threat for "Tank Level 2" weapons. Unforged it should rival the threat weapons that have either agi/haste/crit. If reforged Mastery to Hit there is a chance it is the highest threat weapon at that level. Comes down to 0.2 Weapon Speed vs 52 expertise Smite's Reaver (with the added bonus of minor survivability with the remainder of the unforged Mastery).

(Not that you would typically reforge for threat on a weapon)

The slower speed doesn't eat into any itemisation so is sexy (as sexy as a rolling pin can get).

Digren wrote:I haven't included threat/mastery items where the threat stat is crit rating or haste. This was a conscious decision to limit the size of my list, by excluding items that provide (slightly) lesser threat stats.

I originally planned to ignore them, but then I realized that depending on what piece I'm upgrading, the EH and Armor stats alone make some of them "tanking" upgrades, esp in the ilevel 333 range. Not optimal pieces, but something that I can conceivably wear, enchant, or reforge for tanky stats until I get better (or use while questing). I agree, though, they're likely not the best things to have on a tanking list, esp since my list was primarily a "what can I get while leveling" list, rather than a "what do I need/want pre-raiding/pre-heroics" list.